[News] Widening of spillway begins

HUNZA, June 22: The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) has started widening of the spillway, after protests from local community, through control blasting in order to ensure the release of water from the lake.

Five more houses submerged in Gojal’s tehsil headquarter Gulmit and Shishkat as a result of continuous increase in the water level in the lake.

According to sources, the water outflow from the lake has crossed 9,600 cusecs against 9,800 cusecs of inflow. The water had started overtopping on May 29 but the spillway still lacks the capacity to release enough water from the lake.

It is worthy to mention here that the 22km long lake has so far submerged more than 250 houses, 135 shops, 5 hotels, 6 furniture works, thousands of kanals of land and domesticated plants in Ayeenabad, Shishkat, Gulmit and Ghulkin villages alongside with billions worth community and public properties.

The submersion of the more than 20km long belt of the strategically located Karakoram Highway has not only isolated 25,000 population of Gojal tehsil but totally stopped the border trade with China. source